Haru's journey, a tale of the new world
by stevethemime
Summary: After losing everything, and gaining incredible strength, young Haru wants to start a new life, with a new job, and what better place to start than the new world?
1. The beggining

Chapter 1

Saku village was burning, crimson flames erupting from the old wooden houses, screams of the dying ripping through the night air. The young Haru stood, watching his home crumble to dust; not long ago, a pirate crew had come to the island, and the naïve villagers foolishly gave them sanctuary. It was their last act of kindness. The salty wind stung his bloodied back as he tried to crawl towards the village well so he could hide in their; he felt anger, hate, fear, sadness; confusion… was this really happening? And why! Why…..

"Huh…" They spotted him!

"Hey, there's a survivor!"  
"Kill 'em!"

He looked back as he saw a small group of four pirates coming towards him, brandishing fierce weapons, hideous looks of glee on their faces, horribly illuminated by the firelight.

"Come 'ere boy, we don' 'wanna hurtcha!"  
"Heh heh heh…" They came closer slowly, enjoying the sight of him helpless, paralyzed with fear; tears flowed down his tan faced, and he tried to crawl backwards, but he could not move. _Please move. _He said inwardly _I don't want to die… move…__move…__move… _

A shadow crept forward, towards the pirates, a man cloaked in a thick and ragged black shawl, his feet glided on the ground softly as he approached. "Hey, what are you doin' here!" Howled one of the pirates; the man said nothing. He stood before the pirates, towering over them menacingly, emotionless.

"Ah he's nothin'; we just get to have more fun."

"**Heh…**" The man chuckled darkly, "**No**," he began, his voice deep, dark, throaty and booming. "**Youuu will see that Hellll is not what ones such as you shall enjoy, soon…**"He said pointing a shiny black finger towards them; its texture was like that of ink.  
"KILL 'EM!" The pirates charged toward him, one who was ahead of the others thrust a dagger towards his chest. The man caught his wrist and twisted it violently; causing the man to cry out in agony, before spinning and throwing him into the air face first, where he lifted his fist straight up, and let the pirates own weight and gravity propel him onto the fist, snapping the mans spine. He tossed him aside like a rag-doll before carefully approaching the other pirates in a low, cat-like stance, with his fingers spread out like talons. The other three were not fazed by their allies' death, and assumed that it was his own fault for his carelessness, and continued to attack. One charged towards him, but was hit in the side of the face with a swift and savage palm swipe, his feet tripping over his assailant's outstretched foot, causing him to flip over and spin in the air until his skull crashed against a rock with a sickening thud. The other two were now worried, but hoped to still defeat their strange foe. "Who are you!" Screamed one of the pirates.

"…**I… am the devil … and you… are my****prey!**" They both charged at the same time as he widened his stance, they both came at him with a sword strike straight down, but he neatly side-stepped at break-neck speed, and punched the one on his left in the gut, doubling him over, while simultaneously back-fisting the other pirate in the face, blowing him away. The one he had just punched staggered backwards, fighting to suck in air and to not puke. "S-stay back!" He yelled in a quivering voice "I'm warning yo-" He was cut of as the man shoved his fingers, which he shaped into a sort of spear, into the mans throat, killing him instantly.

"Hah! You're dead now!" The last pirate had gotten up from his injuries and was pointing a rusty pistol at his enemy, holding it in his trembling hand, a look of yet unsettled terror and glee on his face.

"**You think you can kill me, Asmodeus Akuji with such a primitive weapon-**" He was cut off. A shot rang out, loud and clear into the night sky, as the man caught the bullet.

"N-no way…" The pirate and the boy thought simultaneously. The pirate was about to reload, but before he could, the man flicked the bullet into his fingers and, shifting his body weight, hurled the bullet back at the pirate, where it lodged inside his head.

The strange man walked towards Haru, who laid quivering, and shivering in only a pair of loose, tattered shorts. "P-please…help me!" He whispered.

"**Hmmm? Why? ….Do you deseeerve to live boy!**" The man asked sternly, almost as if testing him. Haru thought back to his earlier days, his mother, she was so kind, his father, so wise and strong. He asked this question of himself once. Why _do _I deserve to live? He didn't quite understand the answer himself, but he remembered what his parents taught him

"E… everyone deserves a chance…to live…"

_Four years later…_

It was a hot, humid evening on Candlewick Island, the sky a deep orange as the sun fell deep into the horizon. Life was at a standstill. All except for four boys…

"**Come on men! We'll be rich for sure!"** A short, scruffy voiced, dark messy haired boy of twelve years proclaimed as he tried to rally his 'troops' to press onward. "**We'll be at that creeps house in no time! And when we steal his treasure, I'm gonna get the biggest ice cream sundae ever!"** He shouted triumphantly, grinning widely as he stood still with his first finger pointing straight up, still trying to catch his breath. He wore a black 'cat burglar' sweater and black pants with combat boots.

"Koru… you said that half an hour ago…" A younger, shorter boy with massive round glasses and similar features, Yuto, said bluntly. He wore a white polo shirt and shorts. The other two, a thin, spiky haired athlete Shogi, and a large, round bellied giant with brown hair, Doku, looked at each other, and hastily agreed.

"We're not really going anywhere." Mumbled Shogi. He wore a white tank-top and shorts.

"I….have to agree Koru…" Said Doku softly, looking down, as if apologizing. He wore a white tee-shirt and blue pants

"**WHAAAAT!"** Koru said loudly. He was furious, and his red face showed it. "**You guys are gonna **_**chicken**_** out nooooow!"**

"Koru," Yuto began, "it's not called chickening out, it's called being sensibl-"

"**CHICKEN! BAK BAK BAK!"** interrupted Koru, performing an undignified 'chicken' dance.

"I…have to agree with Yuto…" Doku added quietly. You could see the smoke coming out of Koru ears

"…..**FFFFFFFFIIINNNEEE! Go run home to yer mommies! And Yuto, you're supposed to agree with me!" **

"No, that's just what you want me to d-"

"**After all I do for you! My only little brother!**"

"YOU JUST TELL ME TO DO STUFF!" The two brothers continued bickering for some time, both of their faces gradually getting redder and redder until they ran out of steam and just glared at each other.

"**Well, I'm gonna go invade that creeps house, slay the demons, steal his plunder and maybe rescue a damsel or two!**" Koru shouted angrily at his 'treacherous' men.

"Aren't you overestimating what will happen?" Yuto protested to his brothers' uncaring ears.

"**I'M OFF! You women can join me if you want a share of the plunder!" **He said to his fellows as he began striding off in no particular direction, hoping that even though he had no idea where he was going, that if he went their confidently enough, they would follow him anyway. He kept walking purposefully, leaving his men to weigh their options… until he tripped over a root. He simply lay their, with his face in the dirt, silently fuming.

"Koru…are you alright?" Doku asked quietly.

There was silence for a moment.

"**!" **Koru slammed his fist onto the ground and stood up walking slowly back towards the group, his face twisted in a contorted grimace, red with sunburn, filthy, covered in bruises and scrapes and dripping with sweat; he was the picture of abject frustration. **"AAAAA'IGHT! I AM SOOOOOOOOOOO DONE WITH THIS CREEP! SCREW TREASURE! SCREW THE SUNDAE! WHO NEEDS EM! LET'S GO HOME MEN!" **He said letting out all of his steam. He than stood for a moment. And then he stood for another moment.

"Don't tell me…" Yuto said eyes wide with horror.

"…**Which way is home…?" **

Again there was silence. Until Yuto began strangling Koru, and Shogi was forced to try and pry him away.

"YOU IDIOT! YOU BROUGHT US ALL THE WAY OUT INTO THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE AND YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO GET BA-"

"I think I see his house…" Doku said softly

"THAN WHAT ARE WE WAITIN' FOR MEN! LET'S GO!" Koru said triumphantly as he charged forward…in the wrong direction.

"So quick to change his opinion…" Shogi mumbled

"IT'S THIS WAY MORON! YOU'RE NEVER LEADING AN EXPEDITION AGAIN!" Yuto screamed as he pulled his brother in the right direction by the collar.

"Alright alriiiiiight! I get it!" Koru struggled free of his brothers grip and dusted himself off before allowing Yuto to lead. "And soon, WE'LL ALL BE RICH OFF OF THAT CREEP!"

"So loud…" Shogi mumbled.

"I can't let that happen I'm afraid." A voice said from the trees. The boys were all startled and looked around, trying to find who was spying on them.

"S-S-SHOW YOURSELF COWARD!" Koru Shouted, his knees trembling slightly.

"Alright" The voice said, and behind them, they heard a soft thump on the ground, and quickly turned to investigate.

"IT'S THE CREEPY EVIL GUY!" Koru shouted, terrified, and jumped into Doku's arms. Than, from behind a tree came a boy, about thirteen years old, their age, with shortish blond hair, black pants, black leather boots and a white tee shirt, and had a flat-topped baseball cap on his head, similar to a marines but pure black. He looked at himself.

"I'm not creepy, am I?" Koru quickly leaped out of Doku's arms and cleared his throat.

"**Ahem. Citizen, stand back, for we strong young boys are embarking on a dangerous and valiant journey to steal from a helpless old man! Interfere…"**

"Didn't he just contradict himself?"

He looked down, and put his right hand forward for dramatic effect "**At your own peril!" **He said, looking up with a 'brave' and 'fiery' look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow that, you see, that 'creepy guy', is my master." The boy said coldly, sliding his right foot back and widening his stance. "I hoped that you would just give up and go back home. You still can, it's that way." He said, pointing to his right.

"**Hah! Koru of the Flamen Skullz NEVER passes up a chall- Wait, you were following us! HOW SKETCHY! And how is that even possible with our Tiger-like stealth?"** Koru asked, taking up a 'ninja stance'. The boy looked at him with a bored look in his eyes.

"I could smell you." Koru face grew red with embarrassment. He looked back at his men, who were standing a good distance away from him, and Doku even had a clothes-pin on his nose. Koru grew even more embarrassed, and lifted up his arm smelling his armpit. "**Ewwww… ANY WAY! I'M GONNA BEAT YOU UP AND THAN ROB YOUUR MASTER AND EAT THE BIGGEST ICE CREAM SUNDAE I CAN BUY! HYAAAAAA!" **Koru began charging at his opponent, swinging his arms wildly in every direction.

"Koru is a great boxer! This should be over fast!" Yuto said, proud of his older brother. Just than, he side-stepped Koru, who ran directly into a tree, and fell backwards with X's in his eyes.

"…Yep, it was." Mumbled Shogi.

"Aah! Koru! Rrrgh… TAKE THIS!" Yuto shouted as he threw a rock towards his brothers' assailant. The rock was aimed perfectly for his face, and was going towards him at incredible speed, until the boy caught it with his bare hand.

"My name is Haru, and I guard this place. Don't ever come back!" He stated seriously. The boys looked at each-other, and than to their fallen leader.

"Th-this isn't over! We will be back for a rematch when we are stronger, and we'll beat you!" Yuto said with fire in his eye as Shogi and Doku picked up Koru and headed off in the direction of home.

"Mmhmm. Good luck with that." Haru said coldly as he walked towards his master's house.

A few minutes later, he was at the entrance of the huge, gothic cathedral that his master was using as his home, and swung the doors open. Than he heard a gong. His master was calling him

_Haru's journal, Entry 1 June 11__th_

_Master gave me a journal today, I don't really know why. He said I needed to pass the time. I guess it might be nice. He said I could write anything in it, and no one would know. Well, I guess it's worth a shot. _

_Something's really been bugging me. There are all these people calling Roronoa Zoro, the legendary pirate swordsman, Zolo. I guess they must have an accent. But, when I think about it, if they had an accent, shouldn't they call him, Lolonoa Zolo?_

_Ah this is dumb._

_Haru._


	2. A new vocation

Chapter 2

Haru walked slowly through the dark stone halls of Akuji manor, the sheer size and scope of the high, dark corridor still gave him a sense of inadequacy every time he walked through it. He passed paintings of famous pirates, the straw-hats, the white-beards and black-beards, past shichibukai and yonkou, and even some high ranking revolutionaries. Asmodeus certainly enjoyed history.  
He opened a massive round-topped wooden door, and entered into his master's study, a spacious room with high, Gothic ceilings, ornately decorated with several exquisite pieces of furniture that Asmodeus had acquired over his many years. His master sat in his favorite chair, a wooden throne with plush dark red velvet cushions, reading an ancient novel written in some forgotten language. "**Come closer Haru, we must speak.**" Haru did as his master commanded, taking of his flat topped hat (Fidel as he called it. No one knew why) as he stood before him, they were nearly level, despite the fact that Asmodeus was sitting down. Haru looked around nervously, not knowing why his master called him in.  
"What is it master Akuji?" He asked in a low voice.  
"**It seems that you guarded my house from some thieves...**" Akuji opened his eyes wider, and looked deep into his student's eyes. Only twice before had he ever done this, the first time Haru was nearly paralyzed with fear, the second, they were training and nearly killed each-other- Haru hated looking into his master's eyes, his yellow, hellish eyes. "**You must not be so cruel to your opponents Haru...**"  
"He asked for a fight-"  
"**A fight he thought they could win, he would not have attacked so willingly had he known how strong you were.**" Haru lowered his eyelids and glared, in anger and frustration, Asmodeus had lectured him about this many times, and he never believed him. "**Need I remind you of the nature of your combat style?"**  
"NO!... I...I'm sorry Master I didn't mean to yell." he hung his head. There was silence for a moment.  
"**I have heard about that boy from his mother, I see her around here from time to time.** **That boy… lost his father not long ago****...Haru... I know that their is little I can teach you about peace, for I have never had it...But I can teach you much about anger. It will destroy you Haru, you and those you love**." Haru tightly gripped Fidel, empathizing with Koru's loss .  
"I...don't love anyone." he said coldly, trying to hold back emotion.  
"**You will Haru. Life will give even the most apathetic people in this world someone to love. But, we must talk of other things...**" Asmodeus said, closing his eyes. "**It is time for you to leave Haru.**" Haru looked up, shocked.  
"What? But what about training? I'm not even close to mastering all the styles."  
"**Heh heh...Neither am I Haru**." Haru looked at his master, confused. Asmodeus gestured with one of his dark, satiny fingers to a desk near the front of the room. "**You will find in their the scroll passed down from master to master of *Raion-jin Musha, it is yours now,**" Haru was about to protest when Asmodeus offered him such a priceless treasure, but Asmodeus continued, "**you will also find a very useful tool, and perhaps a way of earning yourself some income**." Haru walked to the chest, and opened the front drawer, revealing a box bearing the symbol for Raion-jin Musha, a tiger and dragon encircling each-other forming a Yin-yang. Beside it he found a pair of black fingerless gloves and a yellowed piece of paper. Lifting the gloves, he was surprised by their heft; they were probably about 40 pounds each! He could handle the weight, but it would interfere with his punches. He put them on anyway, trusting his master. Picking up the piece of paper he noticed that it was a bounty. It was an old, grizzled man, well past his prime, missing half of his teeth at least, holding up a gauntlet adorned right hand.  
_**Ryug "**__**Iron-hand**__**" Rusu**__  
__**Pirate**__  
__**Wanted for 6,000,000**_**  
**"What is this for?" Haru asked, showing Asmodeus the paper.  
"**That man has entrenched himself in caves on the other side of this islands mountains, the marines have been halfheartedly pursuing him for months now, but he has taken hostages and their pious but incompetent captain has done nothing to deal with him... There is a secret entrance to the mine that he is inside; it should lead you to where he is keeping his prisoners. Make sure they are safe, than defeat him and the dozen or so men that he still manages to keep with him. They should be no problem, but be careful when you fight him. The map to where you must go is inside that drawer as well.**" Haru took it, and quickly looked at it, before folding it up and putting it in his pocket. "**...Good luck Haru, I would not have entrusted you with this task if I did not have the utmost confidence in your abilities.**"  
"Thank you Master, I won't disappoint you." He said, bowing.  
He could not have possibly realized how important this mission was.

_Haru's journal_

_Master told me more about that Koru boy. I guess we have a bit in common. I wonder if I would have been like that if it weren't for master Akuji. I don't think so, but, I don't really know what to think. It's still hard to cope with now. _

_Well, I guess a journal isn't so bad. _

_Haru._


	3. The story begins

Chapter 3

Haru rushed through the forest, occasionally pulling out the map to make sure he was headed in the right direction. Once he was sure that he was on the right path, he rolled it up and continued at full speed. He soon found the old mine shaft, made of old, rotted wood, which been abandoned long ago, and without a second thought, jumped straight into the darkness…

The captives, eight in all, moaned fearfully as ten big, burly pirates, who were armed to the teeth corralled them into the end of the mine, brandishing their weapons threateningly and telling them to keep quiet, "or else" as well as several other generic, ambiguous threats. The captives huddled together, trying to comfort each other, and continually whining with statements like, "Please don't hurt us!" or, "When will this all be over?" Finally, Ryug's first-mate, an athletic looking young man wearing a tattered shirt and black bandana, snapped.

"WOULD YOU ALL SHUT UP! THE NEXT PERSON THAT TALKS GETS A ONE WAY TRIP TO THE END OF MY BLADE!" He yelled, and the captives all huddled close together, letting out a simultaneous gasp of fear, but remaining otherwise silent. He smiled at his ability to intimidate people, and his clever little threat; they knew he was supposedly a master swordsman, and no one to be taken lightly. "That's what I thou-" that was as far as he got before a small young man landed on top of him, instantly rendering him unconscious. Haru stood up and quickly dusted himself off while getting a rough head-count of pirates and captives, both of whom were totally stunned at his arrival, and looked at him with their eyes popping out of their heads. Then, he turned to a man near him to his right, holding a pistol and yelled,

"RYU!" As he rushed towards him like a flash, and lifted his left hand to his face like a claw, lifting him several feet off of the ground, forcing him to drop his weapon, which Haru grabbed with the hand he struck with, pivoted on his foot and hurled the gun like a boomerang to another pirate at the end of the room, the only other one with a pistol; he didn't even have time to react before the pistol hit him directly in the nose, breaking it and rendering him unconscious. He then moved to his next to opponents, swinging his palms like they were dragon claws, quickly dispatching them, while simultaneously side-stepping their strikes. A pirate beside him began drawing a sword, but Haru placed his foot on its sheathe, preventing him form opening it, and stepped up into the air, using the sword as his footing, and kicked the man hard in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. Then all the remaining pirates held up their weapons and charged at him, in the front of the group was a huge wall of a man, who charged with unbelievable speed straight towards Haru. Haru readjusted Fidel, and smirked, ready for his opponent. As the man swung his massive sword, and his allies cheered him on, Haru nimbly stepped onto the blade and quickly flipped over him, shouting, "SUZU" before jabbing his fingers into several pressure points on the back of the mans neck before he landed. Haru stood behind the giant, who was now quite still, and cracked his knuckles, as the largest pirate there fell over unconscious. And tiny, sweet looking old female prisoner looked at her young soon-to-be savior, and loudly remarked,

"Holy shit!" Many of the surrounding pirates did, actually…

Ryug was pacing through the middle of the cave; he had purposefully positioned himself there so that he was well guarded but still easy to access… and because if any of his men decided to betray him, they would be between either the marines or the end of a cave, or him. His plan on this island was going fine until the marines showed up and chased him in here. Honestly if he wasn't so busy capturing all those future slaves he found on this island, he and his men probably would have been able to escape that fool of a captain easily. He was troubled with this turn of events, and tried to keep himself calm by pacing back and forth; eventually the marines would push them back, or starve them out. He wasn't in checkmate, but his enemy had all the pieces. His grizzled old face grimaced, and he snarled, showing his yellowed, rotting teeth, most of which were missing. His brown leather overcoat swayed in the breeze he was creating as he quickened his pace. It was going to end soon, his whole career… well, he had good run at least, he thought to himself. Then he heard screaming coming from the end of the mine, where his men were keeping the prisoners. "Danmit, what did they screw up now?" He barked out in a deep, gruff voice as he ran off to see what problem his men had caused.

When he arrived at the other end of the cave, he couldn't believe his eyes; his men lay defeated, though not a single drop of blood was on the ground, and none of the prisoners were here, but how could they have escaped? A voice came from behind him, "It's over Ryug." He turned around quickly, aiming a powerful left punch to his enemies jaw, quickly lowering his aim when he noticed that his opponent was a mere boy. "GENBU!" Haru yelled, as Ryug's fist connected with his face. Ryug smiled, knowing that he had defeated his opponent easily. His smile quickly faded as the boy stood, apparently unaffected by the attack. Haru brushed aside his arm, smirking as he clenched his left fist. "This is how you do it. TORA!" He yelled, letting out a nearly identical attack to Ryug's jaw, which by contrast sent Ryug flying to the end of the room. "This'll be easier than I thought…" Haru exclaimed somewhat happily. "I like this job!" Ryug grimaced as he slowly got up.

"Don't you disrespect me you punk!" This kid was unbelievable, that kind of strength only existed in monsters, not pubescent children! He roared as he flew towards Haru, with his metal clad right hand preparing a powerful strike aimed at Haru's head. Instead of taking the attack or overwhelming his opponent, Haru neatly side-stepped, and closed in on his opponent. At this distance he could freely maneuver his smaller arms while keeping his opponent from getting a good swing out. He then began pummeling his opponent with a torrent of tiny fists, each being much less powerful than the attack to the jaw he used earlier, but still hitting his opponent anyway.

"HEBI!" He yelled as he grabbed Ryug's arm and flipped him over, still holding onto him, Haru wrapped his left leg around Ryug's arm and under his chin, while his other leg was planted firmly on Ryug's chest, both legs pushing down, squeezing the air out of him as Haru used his hands to lever his arm at the wrist and elbow, prepared to snap it. They simply lay there for a minute, struggling against each other, though Haru obviously had the upper hand. "Are ya ready to give up now old man?" Haru asked. Ryug growled as he tried to remove Haru's limbs from his body, but whenever he succeeded, which happened rarely, Haru would simply move it somewhere else, and kept him in basically the same hold.

"God Danmit! Why can't you just respect your elders and die like you're supposed to!" He yelled, pushing off of the ground with his left arm and slowly standing up, lifting Haru's weight with one hand.

"Holy…" Haru murmured, before he felt his body flung against a hard rock wall. He fell to the ground like a rag-doll, and Ryug grabbed him by the back of the throat with his right hand, picked him up, switched his hold by grabbing the front of his neck with his left hand, and prepared one final swing at Haru. "GO TO HELL!"

"SUZU!" Haru yelled as he stabbed his finger onto a very sensitive pressure point on Ryug's left arm, causing him to drop Haru a split second before his attack hit him, and giving Haru the chance to move away from his opponent. Ryug turned and faced him again, and swung another powerful fist at his opponent. Haru stood completely still. "GENBU!" He yelled, as his body took the full force of the blow and he grabbed Ryug's arm. Ryug stared wide-eyed; amazed that anyone could take a direct attack from his signature Iron Fist and still survive, let alone continue fighting. "SUZU!" he said as he stabbed his fingers into several points on Ryug's right arm, causing it to go numb, and while he was temporarily stunned, he put his right pointer and middle finger together and quickly jabbed them into Ryug's throat. Ryug coughed and grabbed his throat with his left hand, not realizing that he was now completely defenseless. Haru backed up, "TAKA!" He yelled as he spun around, and whipped his left foot directly into Ryug's jaw…

The marines in front of the cave entrance were shocked to see several pirates fleeing from the mouth of the cave, only to have their legs shot nearly simultaneously from someone in the crow's nest of a ship.

"What fools these rapscallions be! To think that they try to escape from the eyes of…" he flipped from the crows nest, landing on his ships mast; he was a tall man with golden blond hair, a goatee and incredibly thin, long eyebrows, wearing the standard captain cloak along with Shakespearian garb including puffy pants and stockings, "The great captain Tristor Valinos! The greatest marksman of all marines!" He proclaimed, swirling his signature long sniper rifle like crossbow. His crew all mumbled and groaned at their captains strange antics, and went about collecting the pirates so that they could send them off to the nearest prison ship.

"Um captain, I think I just figured out why those pirates left the cave!" A nameless marine said, pointing to the mouth of the cave, where a young boy was walking out dragging along the unconscious Iron-hand Rusu, whose arms and feet had been securely bound with a long thick rope. Valinos jumped from his ship to the shore, performing several completely unnecessary pirouettes and flips while in mid air, and gracefully skipped towards Haru.

"We-he-hell my boy, what do we have here? A young swash-buckling bounty hunter trying to prove his worth by assisting the great Captain Valin-"

"Where do I collect his bounty?" Haru interrupted. Valinos looked at him as if Haru had just insulted his mother, but than quickly composed himself and forced out a laugh.  
"Ohoho! I see you are a soldier of fortune! Well than just let him into my custody and I'll"

"Nope. Not unless you can pay his bounty." Haru said smiling. Valinos' face grew serious.

"Danm kid…" then, as if he realized something said, "OH! A foul word! Bad Valinos! BAD!" He said, slapping himself in the face. Haru held out his hand.  
"Money…" he said.

"Fine. Here's 6,000,000 Beli, now where pray tell are the prisoners that I was supposed to so valiantly rescue?" He asked, and as if on cue, Haru pointed his thumb behind him as he accepted the money and dropped Ryug, and several people came running towards the marine ship, telling them what happened.

"And he punched the guy, and then he kicked the guy, and then he…I don't really know what he did that next part, but it was awesome!"

"It was so incredible, he saved us all!"

Then the old lady piped in loudly. "He looked so sexy beating on those pirates!"

"Well, it seems you're quite popular with the ladies my young friend!" Valinos said as Haru shuttered. "I suppose I'll be seeing you around. Now you'd best get back to wherever you call home, and let us marines take care of this mess! Run along now!" Haru smiled and ran off, he couldn't wait to tell Master Akuji, his heart was racing, and he had so much money too!

Haru raced through the halls of Akuji manor, bursting into his master's office. "I did it! I won master Akuji!" He exclaimed excitedly. He looked to his master, who was looking out a stained glass window, facing away from him.

"**Hmmm faster than I expected. I'm impressed my student." **He stated plainly. Haru smirked and moved closer to his master.

"Um…about what you said…about me leaving…" Asmodeus sighed heavily, and turned towards his student, who he bid to come closer.  
"**Haru, I took care of you, I trained you, I taught you about life, at least all that an old demon like me can, but it is time that you learned for yourself." **Haru lowered his head. "**That man that you gave away to the fool Valinos, do you know anything about him Haru?" **he asked. Haru shook his head. "**That is the man… that killed your family." **Haru was shocked, why didn't Asmodeus tell him sooner, he had him in his hands, if he had known! ... "**If you had known, you would have killed him, and it would have brought you some pleasure, this much I can tell you; but Haru, it would have consumed you, and he is not worthy of destroying the spirit of such a fine young man!" **Asmodeus proclaimed passionately. Haru clenched his fists…Asmodeus was right, he would have killed him, he had thought about it night and day for years, but he had also brought him to justice, that must have counted for something. "**Haru, vengeance belongs to no one man, think of how many others have lost loved ones to that piece of trash. How many would you have robbed of seeing him put to justice if you had killed him?" **Haru thought deeply about what his master was saying. It was true…he had never thought of it that way before. **"And now, now that I have nothing more to hide from you, I can be your master no longer, for you are no longer a boy, but a young man. Haru, if you wish, I shall be your father." **He said softly. Haru was shaking, from what, he wasn't quite sure; memories of his family flooded back to him along with memories of that horrible night, and the training he went through with Asmodeus. He walked forward slowly with his head bowed low, and tightly embraced Akuji, the man who taught him almost everything he knew, the man who became his father.

_Haru's journal, Entry 3, June 13__th_

_Well, I guess it's for real, Master…Dad wants me to go off on my own. But as one last test, he wanted me to write down all of the styles of Raion-jin Musha that I've mastered so far. Here goes,_

_Tora: Means tiger. A style that uses the hands and legs, and moves in such a way that the user disregards all defense and focuses solely on attacking. Strong against slow or weak-defensive enemies._

_Suzu: Shortened from the word Suzumembachi, which means hornet. It is a style that focuses on enemies' pressure points to negatively affect their body or hinder their movements. Strong against enemies with open defense._

_Hebi: Means snake. It is a style that utilizes your whole body to immobilize your enemies while slowly applying pressure to them, eventually forcing them to give in. Strong against very defensive or agile enemies, when you can use it on them._

_Ryu: Means dragon. It is a style that employs broad strikes with the palm or fingers to sensitive area's on your enemies' body, and moves in such a way that the motion of your attacks make it difficult for your enemies to hit you. Strong against all enemies, but it is usually harder to win a fight using just this style._

_Genbu: means turtle, or something like that. This style requires that you focus your…I forget what Dad called it, I wasn't paying much attention, he was punching me till I got it down, so I only focused on the important stuff. It allows your body to harden, and deflect attacks away from you, most of the time you don't even feel a thing. Strong against powerful striking enemies, as long as you are ready for a counter-attack. _

_Eh, I'll right the other ones down later. _

_Haru._

**Sorry about the long wait guys, I was busy writing other fan-fictions which seem to be more popular, and I forgot how fun this story was to write. Please review, I'd love to know what you think about the story so far.**

**Mime out.**


	4. Just another day at work

Chapter 4

_Five years later…_

A full-grown Haru lay still on the board of his small, one man boat, resting his head on his hands and soaking the warm sun into his skin. He smiled lightly and crossed his legs, resting his right foot on his lifted left knee. He took Fidel off and placed it over his face, so the sun would not reach his eyes. This was going to be a good day; he had set course for a bustling port island not far into Grand Line… it would be packed full of small pirate crews hoping to make a name for themselves, all of them young and strong, highly wanted, but impetuous; the perfect targets! His smile widened as he allowed his tired young body to drift into a peaceful sleep, as Beli signs danced around in his mind…

He awoke later to the unmistakable feeling of a tongue licking his face; he moved his beloved hat from his face and smiled when he saw his young, black and white Akita excitedly trying to wake him, wagging his tail, if you could call it that. He sat up slowly, wiping the slime off of his face. "Ahh… morning Pop-tart. We there yet?" The dog ran to the helm of the ship and pointed its nose forward, and sure enough, the island of Trellobi could be seen cutting an intimidating image on the horizon. Haru stood up and looked at it intently; it was a perpetually stormy place, and its inhabitants out of necessity built incredibly strong ships, and their seamen were some of the best in the world- maybe he could pick up a trick or two from one of them- and the once poor island became an instant mega-port, where people would go to buy and sell ships, and soon everyone around had one of their fine rafts. It was a big business, and the more mountainous regions of the island, where businessmen set up trading companies, began to thrive and turned into one of the most prosperous, but also one of the most corrupt places in Grand Line, while the lower portions of the island always maintained a population of hard workers, clever swindlers, and loud drunks, often the same person being all three. Of course ambitious pirate crews, at least those strong enough to get into Grand Line, all wanted a Trellobi vessel, and so pirates became some of the most faithful customers of the ship salesmen, which established a "Don't ask, don't tell" method of dealing with customers, which was often very useful, but it did allow piracy to grow at an incredible rate.

Haru stretched his arms and legs. Yep, this was going to be a great day!

Haru walked through the busy wind-beaten streets of Gelhpi square, the main plaza on the northern shore of the island; rain was pouring down in wind-torn sheets, harassing the people of the island and flooding the intricate white limestone tiles that were the floor of the entire plaza. He leaned forward to push himself onward against the oppressive winds, and Pop-tart followed close behind. He looked for a ship shop, or a tavern, or perhaps even a place to buy large quantities of goods, all popular stops with pirates, especially on such successful islands as Trellobi. Then a shady figure caught his eye; he was a tall burly man, underdressed for the cold stormy weather of the island, and obviously annoyed at this fact, wearing ragged, dirty looking garments, carrying what looked like the handle of a pistol shoved into his thick leather belt. Yep, this was a pirate; he would lead Haru straight to an entire crew, and perhaps others. He smirked as he formulated a devious plan. He began casually following the unknowing, hapless pirate, and they walked through the square to the outskirts of the island, at a port where there was a large old ship shop, selling small vessels and supplies- he would have to stop by there, they probably had good prices! - but continued on to a small, well hidden cave; Haru hid behind some bushes seconds before the pirate looked behind him to check if anyone had followed him. The pirate then entered the cave, enjoying the refuge from the rain. Haru looked forward and saw a large pirate ship docked not far from the cave; he recognized the Jolly Roger, and he smirked as his plan began to take shape. He then pet his dog cheerily.

"We're gonna make a killing today Pop-tart!"

The burly pirate walked into a large sea cave, which was only accessible during low tide; it was spacious and had a miniature lake of a pool, which held a massive, but old and ragged looking ship, bearing a jolly roger of a skull with thorns wrapped around it. "Captain Blackthorn sir, there ain't a ship on this bloody island 'at we kin afford, and there ain't nut'in else 'ere but shitty weather! I say we leave-" he spoke angrily, before he was interrupted.

"I didn't ask your opinion." A freakishly tall, well-built, scarred young man with ragged white hair, wearing an open light brown leather trench coat, revealing his muscular torso, black pants and gauntlets, and a thick leather belt holding a variety of weapons, said coldly. "I'm not leaving here without a Trellobi vessel, even if we have to steal one!" He said with unrestrained passion, getting surprised stares from all of his young crew.

"Cap'n" A young blue haired girl spoke up, "Stealing a Trellobi ship is like stealing from the devil himself! First of it can't be done, and second, if ya try, they kill ya!"

"THEN I'LL BE THE MAN THAT STEALS FROM THE DEVIL!" He yelled passionately, his eyes glowing with flames, causing his crew to look up at him in awe.

"C…CAP'N IS SO COOL!" They all yelled in unison, and he crossed his arms and smiled smugly…before the mast of his ship snapped in half and fell on top of the vessel. The entire crew looked at their old ship as their eyes popped out of their sockets, and standing on one of the poles of the mast, was a dirty, rugged looking young blond man in a tank-top, wearing a green bandana and an eye-patch, holding the flag of another pirate vessel. A disguised Haru, the afore-mentioned pirate-looking man, smiled condescendingly at the pirates.

"On behalf of captain "Red-eyes Lynch", I hereby claim all of your treasure and weapons! Surrender peacefully, and pray that my captain is feeling merciful, or suffer the consequences!" _"Man I'm lucky; this guy's got a bounty of forty million! I might just make 100,000,000 beli today!" _The pirates looked at him dumbly for a moment, before bursting out into raucous laughter.

"What's one little pipsqueak like you gonna do!" Blackthorn said cockily, asserting his large height and solid build. "We can take any pirate crew in grand line, and we sure as hell aren't gonna be intimidated by some shrimp like you!" Haru grimaced at the obvious barb at his somewhat short stature, _"I'm not that short, am I? Well, onto business…" _He thought inwardly.

"Wrong choice, now you suffer the consequences!" He said dramatically; he soon jumped off the mast and onto the cave floor as bullets began zipping by him. He rushed towards the pirates, zigzagging to avoid their bullets, and as soon as he reached the majority of them, they almost all stopped firing, afraid to hit their own comrades. They charged at him, not knowing what was about to happen to them… "OUSHI! TEKURU!" He yelled as he rushed forward, Lifting his left elbow into the air, along with dozens of pirates, throwing all of his momentum upward; while in the air, he spun around and prepared a kick. "TAKA! I-SENPU!" He yelled as he spun in the air with his right foot spinning like a hammer, creating a small whirl-wind around him that blew dozens of the pirates away.

"WHAT IS THIS GUY!" Several of the now startled pirates screamed in fear as Haru landed and ran towards the next largest group.

"RYU!" He began beating on the pirates, taking them down with a single strike each while simultaneously avoiding their attacks. He had finished the second out of five groups of pirates when the rest, after looking to their captain for guidance and seeing him steadfastly order them on, charged Haru with weapons drawn. _"I hate swords…Well, I've done more than enough, moving on to faze two!" _Haru turned and ran at an incredible speed towards the mouth of the cave, swinging his Jolly Roger over-head as he looked back at the pirates and taunted them. "IF THAT"S ALL YOU'VE GOT, YOU'RE AS GOOD AS DEAD! CAPTAIN LYNCH 'ILL BE HERE IN NO TIME TO TAKE YOU DOWN!" Captain Blackthorn grimaced and summoned his men back; they had no chance of catching up to him.

"Alright men, I know about this Captain Lynch, and when she comes 'round, we'll be ready, and we'll send her sorry ass back to South Blue in pieces!" He exclaimed, lifting his arm into the air for dramatic effect.

"YEAH!" His crew simultaneously agreed. _"But…if she's got kids like that under her command…" _He shuttered at the thought. _I'm gonna need to have an easy escape route!" _

A dark, battered vessel made its way to the unforgiving shores of Trellobi, the crew on it, a perfect reflection of its sad, tired condition. The pirates were large and well built, intimidating, and all looked seasoned and used to the harsh seas, but nature brings all men to their limits eventually, and this sea posed a particularly great challenge to them. Many were wounded, and trying to stay alive on their scant medical equipment and shoddy doctoring, and they had apparently been in a large fight recently; whether they one or lost, it didn't matter, they had felt the cost of battle on the open seas, and felt it deeply. They needed inspiration; they needed to know that they were going to be alright, that they wouldn't meet their fate at the bottom of some lonely sea. They needed their captain.

Captain Jackal "red-eyes" Lynch was a tall, thin, imposing woman, with sharp features and a stern, once-beautiful face that had seen to many horrors of the world to look happy again. Her hair was a deep red, and flowed over her shoulders in thick curls, her ears were adorned with several brass hoops and skull earrings, and she wore a white frilly shirt, black coat, loose black pants and high leather boots, and she carried around with her a small coffin on her back, one that might be used for a child. Her eyes shined bright red, and were said to be able to paralyze a man.

"Men, I know that we've been through hard times through this sea…" She said with restrained passion, and several of her men murmured in agreement. "But we've made it this far, think of how many have failed before reaching grand line? How many have died? We haven't, and by God I'm going to make sure that none of you do till I'm the pirate queen, and we'll have the greatest treasure there ever was! How do we find it you might ask! This! A master pose, it can read the magnetic field of any island in three days, so in no time, we'll be ahead of all those fools how're waiting years on one island for their log poses to tell them where to go, and we'll beat them all!" She yelled as she held her exquisite compass-like instrument high, as her men lifted their arms in cheer with her. She had done it, their morale was back, and she could keep going. And to think, they thought she was going to let them share one piece with her…fools.

She smirked, not out of happiness, but of some twisted pride in her own ability to manipulate these men. The cheering stopped as a dog jumped up and grabbed the master pose in its hands, before running to the edge of the boat, and looking back at them, wagging its tail, which had the blackthorn flag on it. It was Pop-tart, and he prepared to jump into the waters as the red-eye pirates merely looked at him dumbstruck. "GET THAT DOG!" Lynch yelled, as her crew set about gathering weapons and trying to catch the small Akita, who jumped off the boat and began swimming to shore. "JUMP IN AND GET THAT PIRATE DOG BEFORE HE GETS MY MASTER POSE TO THAT JACK-ASS CAPTAIN BLACKTHORN!" Her crew grunted their agreement as several of them jumped into the water, trying to catch the pup, who was now nearly at the shore and going much faster than them…

Haru was hiding in the bushes near the Blackthorn cave, making sure that no one spotted him going in there. He heard Pop-tart run into the bushes, well away from his pursuers, and patted his dog on the head quietly. "Nice goin' boy! You lost them before you ran in here, right?" He asked. His dog merely nodded in response. "Ok, now pay attention, the action is about to start!"

The "Red-eyes" pirates ran onto shore, armed to the teeth and prepared for battle.  
"WHERE THE FUCK IS THAT DANMED DOG!" Captain Lynch screamed. Before them, at the head of the sea-cave, she saw the Blackthorn pirates, preparing for battle, with captain Blackthorn in the front, cracking his knuckles. She also saw her master pose lying near one of the young pirates, who cast it aside, unsure what it was. "BLACKTHORN! I'M GOING TO SEND YOU TO HELL!"

"_Geeze, that kid was right…still, she doesn't look so tough; we can take her down! And if not, I just have to run away!" _he thought inwardly as he pointed his finger at the other captain. "CAPTAIN JACKAL LYNCH, YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR BREAKING MY SHIP! MEN, PREPARE FOR BATTLE!" He yelled as he pulled out two brass knuckles from his belt and slipped them over his fingers. Lynch seemed confused for a moment, but she saw a pirate crew standing between her and her precious master pose, and her men were ready for battle, and that was all she needed.

"ATTACK!"  
"CHARGE!" The captains yelled in unison. Their crews dashed forward, casting away all fear of death for the promise of glory; Blackthorns crew were all young and powerful, and seemed to gain the upper hand, but Lynch's were all burly, seasoned pirates, and knew all the dirty tricks.

A massive man from Lynch's crew, wearing executioner's clothes, was swinging a massive flail, taking out several of the younger pirates; the blue haired girl ran forward, jumped over his flail, directly above where it landed, and ran across the chain at incredible speeds, before pummeling his face with a torrent of kicks, and landing softly on the ground. He was staggered, but reoriented himself and glared at her.

"DID YOU THINK THAT WOULD STOP ME!" he yelled as he lifted his fist into the air. The girl merely smiled, and hearing footsteps, the man looked behind her and saw Blackthorn, just in time to see the brass knuckles connect with his face, and then he blacked out.

"KYA!" Blackthorn yelled after his massive right swing sent the giant flying towards Lynch; he smirked, pleased with his own power, and the blue-haired girl patted him on the back.

"Nice punch captain! Nothin' beats the ole one two!"

Haru looked at the girl and smirked; "Gail Swift, wanted dead or alive for piracy, bounty of twenty million Beli. No devil fruit powers. We're gonna eat pretty good tonight Pop-tart!"

Lynch stepped away from the unconscious man who was flying towards her, and decided to enter the fray; she opened the coffin on her back, and her eyes began glowing.

"Guujin-Guujin no Sendo Kairai! (Doll doll fruit, death puppet)" She yelled, as a wooden puppet in black Japanese armor unfolded from her coffin, and pulled out a variety of weapons.

Haru grimaced at her. "Jackal "Red-eyes" Lynch, wanted dead or alive for piracy, bounty of fifty million, devil fruit powers; Guujin-Guujin no mi, she is a puppet-woman, who can manipulate anything that has part of her body on it. I'll have to be careful of that." He said quietly.

Both captains growled as they began tearing apart their opponents; Blackthorn plowed through his enemies, scattering them with powerful swings that sent them into their allies, and Lynch manipulated her puppet, which carved its way through the enemy crew, and entered the fray with her own weapons. They were a powerful, terrifying sight, tearing through deadly, seasoned warriors like they were children; these two earned their bounties.

Finally, they clashed! Blackthorn began pummeling Lynch's puppet, which simply stood, taking the beating, trying unsuccessfully to counter-attack, while Lynch sneaked up behind him and swung a thick saber at the back of his head.

"Cap'n!" Gail yelled as she flung herself between Blackthorn and Lynch's blade, attempting to block it with two armored gauntlets on her arms; she stopped the attack from reaching her captain, but the sword penetrated deep into her arms, wounding them. She gasped in pain and clenched her teeth, trying to push through the pain; Lynch growled at her and swatted her out of the way and continued attacking Blackthorn, who ducked away from her attacks, before hitting the blade of her saber with his left fist, and then swinging his right at her. She merely smiled and blocked his punch with the basket hilt of her sword, and pulled a knife out of her belt and stabbed his left arm.

"GAH!" He cried in pain, throwing his head back. He pushed his arms forward, pushing Lynch over and pulling the knife out of her grip, before pulling it out of his arm and throwing it away. He was about to finish her while she was on the ground, but her puppet lunged towards him from behind, swinging a sword and a chain.

He turned around, separated his fists and then brought them crashing back into each-other, "BAIZOU SHIRO-FUSHI! (Double white knuckle)" He said, as he created a large seismic wave that hit the puppet and sent it flying back. He smirked as his crew applauded, but cried in pain again as he heard a shot go off. He turned around to see his opponent standing, smirking with bloodlust, holding a pistol to him. He also noticed that she had a large cut on her arm, but he had more important things to focus on! He ducked out of the way of her next few shots, hoping to avoid them and close the distance. He got his chance, and stepped over the body of a fallen pirate, swinging his fist at her. She merely laughed out loud with the rest of her crew, as the pirate he stepped over, soaked in Lynch's blood, stood up and stabbed Blackthorn in the chest…

_Haru's journal number three, entry four, September 2__nd_

"_I Guess I never really finished that diagram of the different styles… Well, I've been putting it off for too long, so here we go, and here are some of the more advanced techniques too! _

_Taka: Means hawk, it is a powerful and fast style that relies on using your feet, and is useful against almost all enemies, especially ones with weak defense, and it seems that most people aren't used to fighting someone who just uses their feet, so they don't know what to do! Black leg Sanji must have been a genius or something…_

_I-senpu is the first special technique in the style Taka, it means first whirlwind, and requires you to actually rotate your kick quickly, and powerfully enough to disturb the air around you; after that, you just direct the air with other kicks. It's a simple concept, but trust me, it is not the easiest thing to learn!_

_Tekuru is the third special technique from the style, Oushi, and it means iron gouge. What you have to do is throw all of your momentum forward, and lift your elbow up in a sharp strike, that concentrates all of your weight and momentum onto a single point. I'm not very good at it, cause I don't have much weight to put behind it, but when you get someone like dad doing it…well, you don't wanna be on the wrong side of dad doing this technique…_

_Today has been a pleasant day, I'm off to Trellobi, a great island for bounty hunters, if you can survive their. I'm interested to see who shows up here, there are a couple of rookies who I've got my eye on, I'm wondering if they'll make it this far. Well, time for my nap. Writing can be so very relaxing…_

_Haru. _

**Again, sorry for the long wait, but most people don't read this… anyway, I hope you guys like this, I was trying to do an interesting, unique approach to a one piece story, set in a different perspective. Again, hope you like it, if you do, let me know, the review button is right down there!**

**Mime out.**


	5. Complications

Chapter 5

Lynch was laughing hysterically; both her, and Blackthorn's crews were both all but defeated, and she looked on at her foe, a sword pierced through his stomach. He glared at her, a look of angry, proud defiance on his young face, and she sneered at it; she had won, and that was all that mattered. She pointed her pistol to him as her new puppet withdrew its sword and Blackthorn fell to his knees, unable to keep himself up. She cocked her pistol and let out one more, small laugh. "Checkmate boy. I hope having that master pose in your possession for such a short time was worth crossing me for." She pulled down the trigger, as Blackthorn looked at her wide-eyed as nothing happened.

"NOW CAPTAIN! I REPLACED HER GUN WITH A FAKE ONE WHEN SHE HIT ME! TAKE THIS CHANCE TO KILL HER!" Gail yelled at him; she was lying on the battle-field, covered with bruises.

Blackthorn looked at her mystified: this young woman who had just recently joined his crew had fought with everything she had in her, willing to sacrifice her life for him, and had just saved his life…Why? Whatever the reason, he had to finish this…

"HITOE…" (Single…)Blackthorn shouted as his right hand began glowing with a powerful light, and he began charging towards Lynch. The other captain merely smiled and used a blade to cut off a tuft of hair, and scattered it over the battlefield, landing on weapons and fallen soldiers, who then rose, their eyes glowing red as Lynch manipulated their unconscious bodies and levitated a myriad of weapons.

"HYAKU NAI GUUJIN!" (Hundred dead puppets) Lynch yelled as she and her puppets ran towards the other captain. Blackthorn charged through the puppets, unaffected by their numbers and the multiple wounds he received, as he swung his fist straight towards Lynch, who was trying to stop him by barraging him with weapons, while swinging a sword of her own.

"SHINKO FUSHI!" (True knuckle) Blackthorn yelled as his glowing fist, now stained with blood, shot straight towards Lynch's face, which scowled at him with fury as her sword came inches away from his throat…time seemed to stop as the two warriors clashed…

Suddenly, the two of them felt a foot in their face and they were sent backwards by a powerful force, completely ruining the epicness that was their duel. They both looked up to where they stood a moment ago, and saw a young man in a black jacket and flat-top marine cap standing there with a young Akita in his arms.

"THAT DOG!"  
"THAT KID!" The captains screamed simultaneously as their rage boiled over, fangs replacing their teeth, and their eyes turning white and bloodshot as they looked at their mortal enemies. Haru smiled lightly as the two captains charged him and his dog; _"This is gonna be a good day…"_

A short, stout man, with a bald shiny head, flanked by untidy wisps of gray hair, sat at a gorgeous, antique chest, looking over several papers and documents. His face was homely and beginning to wrinkle, and in its center was a peculiarly long, beak shaped nose. He wore the clothing of a marine captain, but his elaborately furnished office and freshly cleaned and pressed uniform-which seemed a deeper, richer blue than most any other captains- hinted at a much larger pay grade than what a captain could afford.

Suddenly, a young rookie marine, a janitor probably, burst through a massive carved wooden door and into the office, panting and sweating.

"Captain Bulgah, some man has just dropped off Captains Jackal Lynch and Blackthorn, and the "Northern Star" Gail Swift, and he's asking for their bounty!" Captain Bulgah immediately stood up, a look of composed shock on his face.

"Preposterous! I didn't send anyone to collect any bounties!" The young marine tilted his head and gave his captain an odd look; marines…didn't collect bounties… "Er, I mean, none of my men were sent to take down any pirates with bounties. Who could be here to take down all three of those pirates?" He demanded loudly, trying to change the subject. _"Oh, that was too close; I can't let anyone, let alone a mere marine find out that I have been bending a few rules…" _The marine looked up and nodded, as if remembering something.

"My commanding officer told me to fetch you to see the bounty hunter right away; sir, please follow me!"

The two marines made their way into the jail room, where, sure enough, Jackal Lynch and Blackthorn were positioned in a cell at the opposite end of the room from each other, glaring hatefully at each other and their captor. Haru stood with a small group of young, alert marines, who came to attention as their plump captain waddled into the room.

"What's this I hear about bounties now? Speak up!" He said sharply. One young marine saluted and began to explain.

"Sir, this man came to our gate, pulling a cart with his dog," he said pointing to Haru and Pop-tart respectively "and has asked to claim their bounties…we didn't really know what to do, because you usually handled the bounties…" the man said matter-of-factly. Haru raised one eyebrow at his statement, and Bulgah widened his eyes, wishing to avoid further suspicion.

"Er…well capital! This is a welcome thing indeed! Come along young man, I'll get you your money!" Bulgah said loudly, trying to hide his apprehension.

"Don't you need to fill out some forms…or send a message to HQ to confirm…?" Haru asked, but Bulgah patted him on the shoulder and led him out of the room into a long hallway, the windows of which looked down onto the stormy Gelhpi square.

"Now now young man, let me tell you a little story, a story, of a man with a dream." Bulgah began as the two walked farther into the hall, secluded from marines. "There was once a boy, who grew up in a poor family, on a poor island, in a poor ocean, in a rich world. This boy hated that he and his family didn't have enough, and he vowed to change that. One day, a marine came to that poor island, and began protecting it, it was besieged by pirates you see, but in order to be protected, you had to pay him a tax. Most people were infuriated that this man came and took whatever he wanted, but not I." He said, Haru noticed that it changed from a story to a personal narrative. "No, I saw a man of vision. I would follow in that mans footsteps, learn everything I could from him, and eventually, take everything that he had worked for. Because I had a dream, a dream to live on my own island, with my own servants in my own castle filled with piles of my own gold! Or someone elses even! It doesn't matter to me, but still…" He slowly stopped walking when they reached the middle of the hall, and turned towards Haru with a sinister smirk on his face. "You see boy, I'm not going to report that you brought those pirates in, because one of my men is going to disguise himself as a bounty hunter, take them to the next island, and collect their bounties for me. And there is nothing…" He began, pulling out a cutlass "that you can do about it…" Haru widened his stance, and tightened his fist, preparing for an attack; Captain Bulgah charged forward with a shout, swinging his sword in a wide, but graceful arc towards Haru's neck. Haru jumped back, leaving enough space between them so that Bulgah would have to move forward to attack.

"That's a pretty good idea…how long has it been working?" Haru asked calmly. Bulgah began laughing.

"Oh my boy, me and some pals in the marines have been doing this since we started thirty years ago! Why do you think this island is so safe from pirate attack? I have so much money, that I simply bribe them to keep quiet! Of course they are good for business, because having so many pirates' means that business men and workers mussst have marines to protect their assets and families…respectively, and they pay quite handsomely. Once in a while I let some pirates run wild, just too remind those people who is in charge…it's just wonderful!" The captain then pointed his sword towards Haru, who was glaring at him venomously.

"…No on takes my money from me…" Haru said darkly. He then snapped his fingers and held out his right arm, and Pop-tart jumped into his grasp, before barking loudly at the captain. Bulgah charged at the two, preparing another swing, but Haru easily ducked under the strike and ran behind him, running up the wall to his left, and bouncing off of it, through the windows down towards the town. Bulgah ran over to the window. The fall would have killed most men…but this boy was not normal… He began shaking slightly, and pulled out a Den-den Mushi, which he spoke into. "Marines, a criminal is running wild in my fair town; he is a short young man holding an Akita pup, and wearing a black marine-type cap and black jacket; he has blond hair and is extremely dangerous, I repeat, he is quite short, and extremely dangerous!" the captain barked into the snail, which sent the message through all the loudspeakers around the base, alerting marines and citizens just outside the bases walls…

Haru lay in the mud, in a small copse in the forest outside the marine base; he was quite still, and covered with branches and other debris, no doubt from his fall. Pop-tart was whining, and nudging his master with his nose, hoping to stir him.

"He…" Haru began. He suddenly started to stir, getting into a solemn kneeling position, and hanging his head as a dark aura surrounded him. "He had to say I was short… twice?" Haru said softly, a mixture of depression and repressed rage in his voice. Pop-tart walked up to him and began licking the mud off of his face. Haru smiled lightly and patted his dog. "Come on boy, we've got work to do and bounties to collect!" Haru yelled a bit too loudly, as Beli signs danced in his head.

Bulgah paced back and forth impatiently. 'What if he survived? What if they couldn't find him? How many would believe his story? What would happen to me if the marines found out…' he thought to himself. He bit his lip nervously, but convinced himself that if this boy did survive the long fall, that his men would certainly find him half dead and unable to move…yes, they would deal with him appropriately. Another, more seasoned marine walked up to his captain.

"Sir, our search for the fugitive who attacked you, insulted your mother… and jumped out a window…" the marine began, almost not believing what he was saying. "…is well under way. Don't worry, sir, we will find him, but there is also that matter of you meeting with…"  
"Ah yes, I remember that meeting was scheduled for today. Well, I shall go and meet him on the shore; I wouldn't want a superior officer in my barracks when all this mess is going on. Carry on. Oh, and do get that window replaced, it will get rather drafty in here if you don't…"  
"…Yes sir." The marine said solemnly, even though he knew he had more important things to be doing.

Haru ran quickly through the back alleys of Trellobi's towns, avoiding the rushing marines or wary citizens. He had learned how to catch criminals who were avoiding public attention by thinking like them, and in a difficult situation, adapting that knowledge to match their skill set was a useful trick. He sent Pop-tart off to distract a group of marines, and made his way behind and old, long-abandoned church, with an overgrown fenced garden; that should be an adequate hiding spot for now.

He sat down beside a large blackberry bush and began feeding himself on the unripe berries, while he caught his breath. He would wait for Pop-tart to escape the marines, catch his scent and find him, and then they would move on. For now, he was planning his next move; he'd have to keep moving if he stayed in town, but it was close to his bounties, whereas the wilderness or mountains were much safer, but he couldn't keep an eye on his hard earned money.

"Attention all marines, a vice-admiral will be arriving later today, so you must be on your best behavior and try to look exemplary. Please…" Some marine employee said through a loud speaker. Haru grew a wide smirk. Jackpot.

Suddenly he felt something brush against his pocket; he froze for a minute, but then suddenly turned and grabbed for whatever was sneaking up on him.

"AYE AYE! Lighten up mate! I'm just a li'le 'ungry." Haru looked closely at the person who was trying to pickpocket him; it was a little brown haired boy, perhaps a bit older then ten, wearing a tattered, gray-green long-sleeved shirt, brown shorts, rough leather sandals and a leather bomber hat that was too big for his head. The boy smiled nervously, revealing a large gap between his two front teeth, and began trying to pull his hand, which Haru grabbed tightly, back towards him, probably so he could escape. Haru smiled lightly; it was just a hungry kid… who probably knew how to not be seen in this town.

"Hey, tell you what kid, you show me a way back to the marine base, without getting spotted, and I'll feed you for a week. How's 'at sound?" Haru asked the boy. The boy's eyes widened at the prospect, and he hastily nodded his head, causing his hat to slip onto his face. He adjusted his hat, Haru let go of his arm and they both stood up. The boy held out his hand to Haru. "Name's Gubby, Gubby Flin, master fief and sneaky person. I'll 'ave you to the mawine base in no toime!" Haru accepted Gubby's hand and introduced himself.

"Haru, they guy who needs help from a master thief and sneaky person." Gubby smiled broadly, and readjusted his hat, which had again fallen onto his face, and the two went off.  
"Alrioght, mawines neva come dis way!"

Haru and Gubby quickly made their way up to the rear entrance of the mawine base, the prison room, and the two stood, looking back one last time to make sure that they weren't followed. Haru patted the boy on his head and smiled.

"You're pretty good at this kid; you might make a decent living when you grow up! Now, you held up your end of the bargain, and I'll hold up mine." Haru said as he reached into his pocket, counted out some bills, and passed them to Gubby. The boy's eyes widened as he looked at how much he had received. 1 million Beli even.

"M-m-m-m- Mr. do you know how much this is? I can eat like a king for a week on this much money!" Haru smiled.

"Enjoy." And then he ran off.

Gubby looked back at the money and began laughing like a mad-man. This was the chance that he was hoping for, no, praying for! He then noticed something on the ground and picked it up. It might have fallen out of Haru's pocket; it was a white piece of paper with a crude sketch of a man on it. It read,

"Matthias "Black Cog" Droid, wanted dead or alive. 25,000,000 beli."

_Haru's journal number three, entry five, September 3__rd_

_Suzu: this style is derived from the word Suzumembachi. The main principle of this technique is not to hit harder, but to hit were your enemy is weaker. It has developed over the years into a complicated style based on hitting pressure points with the sharpest possible form your hand can take, and causing some real damage to enemies easily. It's hard to learn though, not one of my better styles, but it is useful._

_It's been a while since I've used my main style. I guess I should tell whoever reads this about main styles. You see, people all have different builds, and different centers of balance, and this all determines how well you can use individual styles; I'm…petite, and very balanced, so I'm not so good with Oushi, which requires a lot of weight to be used effectively, and my arms aren't long enough, and my hands aren't pointy enough for me to use Suzu, but I'm agile, and have a…low center of gravity, which means I have an easier time balancing, which makes Taka and Genbu easy styles for me. But my best style is…oh I forget the name…_

_Haru _


	6. Endgame

Chapter 6

Unconscious marines lined the halls of the prison inside their base; the clanging of metal on metal as keys were frantically being swung against the bars below one of the cells locks could be heard reverberating throughout the room. Two figures stood at the edge of the cell door, both shaking slightly with nervous anticipation as the alarm was sounding around them.

Blackthorn grabbed tightly onto the bars of his cell, wishing that he were not in this predicament; outside, his loyal follower, Gail was trying to figure out which key would open the lock, with little success as of yet. There were roughly seventy keys, and she had only gone through 6 of them, and marines were fast approaching.

"Come on, hurry up!" Blackthorn said nervously. Gail swallowed hard and frantically tried to find the right key.

She had managed to steal the keys from one of the guards outside her cell and escape, but as her cell was less secure, she only had five keys to deal with, but these high security prison areas often had fake keys that opened nothing, and sometimes even broke, getting stuck in the lock, so without knowing exactly which key, it could take over a minute to unlock a door. That was a minute that they didn't have.

"THEY'RE IN HERE! GET THE ESCAPING PIRATES!" A marine yelled harshly.

"Danmit!" Gail cried out angrily. She picked a random key and shoved it into the lock, twisting it and hoping for the best. To the surprise of everyone in the room, it worked, and the cell slowly creaked open.

"Atta girl Gail!" Blackthorn said loudly, patting her on the back. She sighed heavily and tried to calm herself down and think of what to do next. Her thoughts were interrupted when marines burst through the door pointing pistols and rifles at the pirates.

"Halt, we will fire if you do not surrender immediately!" A young marine said loudly, trying to hide his fear.

Gail had no time to react; in a trice, she was lifted up by her shirt, and slung over Blackthorns back.

"BAIZO KYANO FUSHI!" (double canon knuckle) he yelled as he wrapped his fists together and slammed them onto the floor, lifting up the tiles and furniture in the room and kicking up a sizeable cloud of dust as a shockwave shot through the floor towards the marines, tripping them and causing them to discharge their weapons at the ceiling.

Gail slung herself off of her captains back and patted him on the shoulder. "Nice job Cap'n, but we gotta go, now!" She said apprehensively. Blackthorn nodded, and quickly turned, breaking into a run. He stopped as a glimmer of light caught his eye in the split-second before it hit him.

He swung both of his fists towards the middle of what was in front of him, crossing his hands after they struck; on the floor was now the broken remains of a sword, which was held in the hands of Lynch, a look of contented bloodlust on her face. She backed up slowly, giving her some distance between her enemies.

"How did you…?" Blackthorn began,

"Wondering how I got out of my cell? Well let's just say that while the bars may be made of seastone, these marines cheaped out on the locks, which broke with your little display there." She said, gesturing with her half of a sword towards the crater that Blackthorn had left. The two other pirates grimaced; they didn't have time for this, and neither did Lynch and they all knew it.

The marines began groggily getting up, and still more were pouring into the hall towards them; the pirates had to leave, but with so many armed marines, getting through the narrow passage-way to the exit would be suicide.

"Come on Lynch, we have unfinished business." Blackthorn said impatiently as he tightened his fists. The female captain smiled a rare, bloodthirsty smile as she began twirling her sword in her hand.

"Cap'n, we have to go now!"  
"Gail, get out of here, I can take those marines and Lynch, I'll catch up to you before you know it."  
"But Cap'n-"

"THAT'S AN ORDER GAIL!" Blackthorn yelled without even looking back at his subordinate. Tears began welling up in her eyes as she tightened her fists. The marines were almost there, and were already preparing their guns.

Blackthorn thought deeply about what had happened earlier that day…

'_I'm gonna need an easy escape route!'_

'_Cap'n!' Gail yelled as she threw herself between him and Lynch's puppet, wounding herself to save him…'_

"_I won't let her waste this chance…I'll protect her, she deserves another shot!" _Blackthorn thought to himself.

"Gail…" He said softly. The young pirate sniffed and wiped her eyes, before standing sharply at attention. "Go make a life for yourself." Was all that he said.  
Gail bit her lips to keep from crying out 'IT'S NOT FAIR!', and closed her eyes tightly, as if trying to wake from some horrible dream; this was her Cap'n, the man that she swore to protect and serve was now ordering her to let him die protecting her. The irony was painful.

A marine cocking his pistol woke her from her trance; her senses sharpened; yes, it had to be this way…

She turned and ran as fast as she could towards the doors.

Lynch smiled at Blackthorn, before the two of them looked on at the mass of marines brandishing weapons at them, but keeping their distance.

"That was a noble thing boy, not something I would have done for my entire crew, and you did it for one pretty girl. Either she has some charm, or you're a much nicer man than you look." She said plainly, ignoring the screaming orders of marines.

"Heh, you think I'm goin' soft?"  
"Hmm hmm…I seem to remember that we have an unfinished fight; I propose a contest, whoever takes the most marines to hell before ending up there themselves, wins. The prize is a proud death; what more could a pirate ask for?" She asked picking up another sword from a fallen marine.

"I think I'd like that Lynch…" Blackthorn said, cracking his knuckles. He entered a ready stance as Lynch violently slit her wrists with her sword, spraying blood all over the front row of marines, taking control of them, and using them to keep the others from firing. Blackthorn charged forward, screaming his last battle cry…

The first things that Haru noticed that was odd were the sets of sloppy, rushed footprints leading away from the door and down the mountain path, and the fact that the door was not even fully closed. As he stepped into the room, he could see why. Blood and marines were scattered everywhere, the room and most of the hall outside of it were totally destroyed, unrecognizable from their original form. The battered bodies of young marines still had terrified expressions even in their comatose or dead state; it was hard to tell which. He ran down the hall, at the end of which was a Den-den Mushi and several dropped weapons; two limp forms stood out to him. Pinned by a sword to a wall, was the heavily scarred body of Jackal Lynch, blood dripping from literally every inch of her body. She was still smiling, not peacefully… it was a terrifying, vengeful smile. Beside her, on the ground, was the bullet ridden Blackthorn, who had at least three swords in the front of his body, lying facedown in a pool of his own blood. By the look on his face, Haru could tell that he was in some sort of peace. Haru approached the Den-den Mushi, it had recorded a message which was never sent (it was an old, outdated version that wasn't capable of live communication, so it worked more like a traditional walkie-talkie, but recorded message to be saved, and then sent them) and he hit the play button. Most of it was inaudibly poor sound quality, though he could clearly hear the sound of screaming men, who knew their death was coming. It was a sound all too familiar with Haru. The recorder was giving details of the scene, begging for more troops; he was obviously terrified, and very young.

"Please, no please don't kill me, I don't deserve this, give me a chance! STOP! AAAAA-" the recording then stopped. Haru was silent, his hands shaking slightly. He knew the kind of fear that that marine felt and it haunted him still. He looked down at the boy, his death was quick, a slash across the throat, he didn't suffer much. Haru knelt down and closed the boys eyes-he couldn't have been much older then 16- to pay his last respects. He heard a slight moving, and looked behind him; Blackthorn was shifting slightly! He then looked over to Lynch and noticed something about her wounds; they were still bleeding slowly; you don't bleed for long unless your heart is beating! They were still alive! Haru knew that there was nothing he could do…he looked back at the boy who lay peacefully on the floor, his entire life taken from him. This always happened with pirates, always…

He looked back at the two captains and sighed. He hit several of their pressure points to slow their heart rate, and possibly slow the bleeding so that it would be non-lethal; that was all he could do for them…it was all he was willing to do…

Captain Bulgah walked slowly, nervously across the beach; a rare lack of rain had dispersed one cloud just long enough to let a single ray of sunshine onto the still damp sands. Bulgah took this as a good omen for things to come, but still, no need to take chances. He would finish this meeting, hopefully without inviting the Vice-Admiral into his office, and let his obviously busy superior be on his way. Simple, he never had to know about the current…situation.

The ship came into view; it was very close to the shore, but only now visible due to the incredible mist caused by the evaporated rain. Captain Bulgah put on his best, fake smile and waited patiently for the ship to dock.

The vessel was massive and intimidating, its bottom and sides lined with seastone, both for armor and passage through the treacherous calm belt; this was the ship of a seasoned marine who had been through countless battles and survived them all. It was almost…intimidating. Bulgah shook that off; nothing was going to scare him. He heard a swooshing sound in the air, before a dark mass landed on the ground beside him with a thud.

"Might I presume, you are Captain Bulgah?"

Haru tore through the last hall of the marine base, and moved towards a window looking down at the beach; after looking through Bulgah's files, he saw that he was supposed to meet a Vice-Admiral today, it didn't say who. If Bulgah was meeting with a superior marine, this would be a perfect opportunity; he didn't have time to waste. He bounded forward and leapt out of the window, began sliding down the muddy hillside and when he was close enough, leapt forward towards Bulgah and the tall figure standing before him.

"So, before we go into my office, let me tell you about the current situation with pirates in the area." Said Bulgah, clearly trying to stall for time as he had gone over that topic several times now. He could tell that his superior was getting bored, but that was exactly what he wanted; he would be less likely to stay and hear about this mess if he was bored and left soon. They soon heard a thud not far away from them, and looked toward what caused it, their eyes both widening at what they saw.  
Haru, not quite twenty feet away from them, jogged towards them. His clothes were tattered and torn, soaked and covered with mud; he was panting, bruised and cut through going through the thick foliage around the marine base, and was dripping with blood. The smell of sweat was heavy on him. The Vice-Admiral looked Haru up and down under the shadow of his marine hat.

"Sir, there is something you need to know about this marine." Haru said through heavy breaths. Pop-tart ran up behind him, finally catching up to his master, and barked happily at him. "'Ey buddy!" Haru said as he squatted down, petting his dog. Bulgah's face was the picture of horror and shock.

"MARINES! This man is a criminal, seize him!" Bulgah shouted as several marines hesitantly pulled out weapons. Haru stood up, holding his dog, unfazed by their weapons.

"Forsooth, the prodigal son hath returned at long last…" The Vice-Admiral said calmly. Haru tilted his head, unsure of what he meant.

The Vice-Admiral was all but hidden under a wide cloak and a large hat that shaded most of his face, covering nearly everything but his golden goatee and tips of what appeared to be long eyebrows. Wait, that facial hair, that weird way of talking… The Vice-Admiral tossed his hat aside, and the wind blew his cloak open, revealing a man with golden blond hair, wearing Shakespearian clothing, with a long sniper-rifle length crossbow strapped to his back.

"You cocky bastard…" Haru said quietly. He then grinned widely. "Tristor Valinos! Vice-Admiral? This has to be a mistake!" Haru exclaimed.

"In the flesh my boy!" Tristor exclaimed as he and Haru embraced each-other.

"_Danmit, they're on good terms! This will make killing that meddlesome boy killed quite difficult…no, I can do it." _Bulgah thought to himself, his expression changing from one of exasperated shock to that of devilish glee.

"Vice-Admiral Valinos, this man is a criminal and has been causing chaos throughout my base! Please, allow me to kill him for your protection!" Bulgah loudly proclaimed with all the marine pride that he could muster, while pointing his sword towards Haru.

Haru began slowly backing away; closing his fists, ready to defend himself if necessary. "Oh, you hadn't mentioned that small detail Captain. What else have I been deceived about upon this visit?" Tristor asked seriously…well, as seriously as he could.

Bulgah began sweating slightly. He'd not thought about it that way.

"Erm… I had not wanted to trouble a Vice-Admiral with such a petty matter; it is completely under my control. Look, he is a fool, he came right to me!" Bulgah countered. Haru smiled broadly; he didn't have to do anything.

Tristor looked suspiciously towards Haru.

"What have you to say of this young man?" he asked sternly.

"This Captain has been hiring men to send pirates with bounties off to other marine bases, taking their money and bringing it back to him; he uses that money to manipulate this entire island, including the pirates; I figured out what he was planning, so he's been trying to kill me." Haru said straight-forwardly. Bulgah was now soaked with sweat, and it was coming off of him like rain; he was quivering, unable to remain still; had all he worked for been ruined? No, he would not allow that.

"Sir, this boy is a criminal, he has no proof of this, and he's obviously just made the story up to protect himself! ARREST HIM!" Bulgah said, as some marines slowly walked towards Haru, somewhat hesitant to believe the Captain, but not wanting to be punished.

Tristor closed his eyes and thought deeply; he had to choose between trusting an old friend, or a comrade. Usually that was a difficult decision, but Bulgah just seemed so…guilty. No, he couldn't pass judgment so quickly.

Suddenly, a soft static sound was heard, and then a voice, remarkably similar to that of Bulgah's said, **"You see boy, I'm not going to report that you brought those pirates in, because one of my men is going to disguise himself as a bounty hunter, take them to the next island, and collect their bounties for me. And there is nothing…that you can do about it…" **it sounded like a Den-Den Mushi recording…

"**That's a pretty good idea…how long has it been working?"** This time, they could hear Haru's voice.

"**Oh my boy, me and some pals in the marines have been doing this since we started thirty years ago! Why do you think this island is so safe from pirate attack? I have so much money, that I simply bribe them to keep quiet! Of course they are good for business, because having so many pirates' means that business men and workers mussst have marines to protect their assets and families…respectively, and they pay quite handsomely. Once in a while I let some pirates run wild, just too remind those people who is in charge…it's just wonderful!"** The people were quiet, as Haru pulled a young, orange Den-Den-Mushi out from behind his back (orange Den-Den-Mushi are used to record and relay message).

"There's more, but, I think you've heard enough…" Haru said quietly. Tristor's face creased into a grimace. He slowly turned his head towards Captain Bulgah…only to find him charging at Haru screaming his lungs out!

Haru lowered his stance into almost a squat, mixed with a sprinters stance, and crossed his hands, fingers outstretched, in front of his face.

"Nezu…" (Derived from Nezumi, Japanese for rat) Haru said softly. Bulgah's sword was mere inches away from his face…time seemed to slow down; Haru reached his hand towards Bulgah's blade, preparing to hook it around his hand.

"CANTO BOLT!" Tristor yelled as a flashed flew between Haru and Bulgah; suddenly Bulgah noticed that his swords blade was missing. He backed up and looked towards where the flash might have landed. He saw on the ground a bolt, like one used for crossbows, but slightly longer, which had pierced through the blade of his sword and pinned it to the ground. He looked back at his Vice-Admiral, terrified, and saw Tristor's signature weapon, Bianca, held in his hand, pointing towards him.

Bianca was similar to a crossbow in design, though it was the length of a staff, and the two arcs folded into the body of it, allowing for easy storage; it had a complex set of mechanical dials attached to the trigger, and where he loaded bolts; those were what made it so powerful, they were said to have Skypiean Dials in them.

"Bulgah…" The captain looked towards his superior with fear; the sky darkened as Tristor spoke, waves began crashing more loudly and thunder crashed in the sky. Tristor's demeanor had changed, from one of a happy-go-lucky gentleman to that of an avenger. Bulgah was rooted to the spot. He could not move his body.

"_Haki?" _Haru and Bulgah both thought.

Tristor loaded a thick, stone bolt into his weapon, and spun it with his left hand. "I'm disappointed in you. FLAME SONNET!" He then pulled the trigger, and a small explosion occurred within the weapon, igniting the spinning stone, and hurling it towards Bulgah, who was now screaming in terror as he watched helplessly as a spinning, massive ball of fire, growing continually, shot towards him. The bolt hit him directly in the stomach, but the flames surrounded his entire body, and he was sent back several yards away from the shore, into the face of a cliff, where a crater roughly the size of a small ship, still smoking from the heat, appeared.

Haru whistled in admiration as the flames slowly subsided, revealing the singed and veeeeeery unconscious body of Bulgah, as Tristor's men clapped with cheers.

Tristor smiled lightly, and coolly collapsed his weapon into its rod form and put it into its leather sheath on his back. He actually looked really cool…until he did a ballerina spin and faced his men, holding his arms out wide.

"Aren't I wonderful!" He asked loudly. He was met with groans and sarcastic responses.  
Tristor hung his head gloomily. "They hate me. I'm a Vice-Admiral and my men don't even like me yet…" Haru walked up to him and patted him on the back.

"Nah, it's not that they don't like you, it's just that they also like making fun of you." He said…supportively…as he patted Tristor on the back.

He began smiling slightly and looked down at the young bounty hunter. "Now I seem to remember something about a bounty in that recording…pray tell, how much was it?" Tristor asked, knowing not to get between Haru and his money.

Haru smiled. "That'll be 90,000,000! Oh, and maybe you could clear my name?"

_Haru's journal number three, entry 6, September 4__th_

_Nezu: Means rat. This style is all about finding the weakness in your opponent and exploiting it. It requires you to be very steady and balanced, and focused, and has lots of useful techniques for turning your enemy's style against them. I'm pretty well suited to this style, but I still find it difficult, cause it has lot's of complicated, timing based moves that I don't usually bother with. The most useful thing about it is how effectively you can fight against armed enemies. _

_Well, Trellobi has been quite an experience! I'm still not quite done here, hopefully I can restock on supplies and maybe even learn some new tricks for my little ship, but so far I've started a war between two pirate crews, had a big fight with said crews captains, been cheated by what has got to be the most corrupt marine ever, made a friend of a young thief named Gubby Flin, met up with an old acquaintance (he insists that we are actually much closer), Tristor Valinos, and helped take down said most-corrupt-marine-ever. Me and Pop-tart are gonna head out soon, it'll be good to keep moving, and the pay-out was nice, but I'll miss the place. It is a bounty hunters heaven; you shouldn't stay in one place too long though, people will figure out your tactics and…that ends badly._

_Haru._

_(And Pop-tart too)_


End file.
